Heidi

Mom, desperately trying to get the health thing right! I started this blog so that I can pass along all the great things that I learn everyday on damage control for our wonderful bodies. It is tough to keep up sometimes with all the things going on in our daily lives so hopefully some of the helpful hints that I provide can make your life easier and healthier. I welcome your comments and tips as well! I am a vegetarian, animal rights advocate and avid animal rescuer.

Sometimes I wonder if I should read much less write some of the things that I do for fear of being more neurotic than I already am.

The below information that I found on the Prevention magazine websiteis one of those articles. It is great information to know so that we can make better choices for our health but as usual- take it all in stride.

I have always known that location is important but here are some locations that can provide you with either healthy or unhealthy habits. I think I do most of these the unhealthy way. I marvel daily that I am still alive and so healthy.

Your Health-Is it All About Location? Yikes!

The Worst place for your toothbrush- On the bathroom sink. The sink itself is not the problem but b/c of its proximity to the toilet this can cause problems. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert, Chuck Gerba, PhD . See, some things really are better left not knowing). When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 feet settling on the floor, sink, your toothbrush . Oh my!

The Worst Place To Set Fruit Before Washing It-The Kitchen Sink-Of all the household germ depots, the kitchen sink sees the most bacterial traffic-even more than the germy toilet, says Kelly Reynolds, PhD, a professor and environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona.

The Worst Place For A Nighttime Reading Light- Overhead. The overhead light puts out relatively bright light-enough to significantly delay the body’s secretion of melatonin, showed a 2000 study. That can wreck your night, since rising melatonin levels are a major cue for your body to prepare for sleep. I personally use one of those little book lights and that seems to work well. Thank goodness there were no germs in this one. Yucko.

The Worst Stall To Pick In A Public Restroom-The one in the middle. The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end, according to unpublished data collected by Gerba. Just wash your hands before you leave and you should be okay.

The Worst Place to Set Your Handbag-The Kitchen Counter-I hope all you guys are taking note of this! Your handbag is a major tote for microbs: Gerba and team’s swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms-and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman’s carryall gets parked in some nasty spots, on the floor of the bus, under the table at a restaurant. Just put your bag anywhere food is not prepared or eaten. I had my bag on the kitchen counter last night as a matter of fact-never, ever again-I hope.

The Worst Place To Try To Fall Asleep-Under bunches of blankets. Being overheated can keep you from nodding off, researchers say: A natural nighttime drop in your core temperature triggers your body to get drowsy. To ease your way to sleep, help your body radiate heat from your hands and feet, says Helen Burgess, PhD, assistant director of the Biological Rhythms Research Laboratory at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Put socks on to dilate the blood vessels in the extremities-then Take the socks off and let a foot stick out from under the blankets. I love all my blankets so not sure if I can handle this one.

The Worst Place To Sit On An Airplane-The Rear-Avoid this section if you’re prone to airsickness, says retired United Airlines pilot Meryl Getline, who operates the aviation website fromthecockpit.com. The farther from the center you are the more up and down movement you experience. Because the tail tends to be longer than the front it is the bumpiest. Smoothest is sitting as close to the wing as you can.

Honestly I think that I do most of the things that I shouldn't in these regards so am going to take a non neurotic moderate approach to all this. I really loved this and found it so interesting and I hope that you did too!

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comments:

I do think about the germs on my handbag, but I can't really function properly unless I block all these thoughts out. We must all be consuming germs all the time. Sometimes it must be good for our immune system right?

Some things are better left unknown I suppose, however, we really should be aware of this stuff for health reason. I'm a germ-a-phobe when it comes to shopping carts and always use my hand santizer after touching one but now I've got other things to be weery of! We remodeled our kitchen last year and got quartz counters which are supposed to be anti-microbial and now I certainly hope they are! Thanks for the interesting information Heidi!

wow, these are eye opener for me, i should close the door that separate the toilet and bath from the sink next time. also, my handbag right now is right next to my banana, no, my handbag is not in kitchen counter, but i am planning to eat banana, while EC dropping, I decided to put my banana first, and I placed it right next to my handbag. Now, I should wash the banana again :(

Here is what I intend to do. I will not take any more airplane flights, and I will sit near the front of my car. That way, I avoid the worst place to sit in an airplane, and I save some money at the sae time :)

I've heard how dirty our sinks are as well as how dirty woman's purses and or bags can be as well.

Imagine walking barefoot downtown, in the park, on the sidewalks etc....imagine how many germs would be on your feet. That's why I keep my shoes away from everything at home, not to keep the carpets clean, but to keep all the bacteria that must be on the bottom of them out of the house.

Very good pointers being made, but we don't have to panic. Our bodies are capable of fighting off the daily amounts of germs we're in contact with. It's wise to close the toilet before flushing and put toothbrushes to the farthest part of the sink, away from the toilet. Wash sinks well before putting any food items in.

OK...thankfully I am aware of much of the above. Also, never wear shoes in your house! Take them off at the front door. You would be so scared if you knew what you were tracking in...talk about yikes!!!

Great info Heidi! I'm a bit of a germophobe, so I'm kind of particular where I put things down, but sometimes I just say, oh well...(smile) As for the sleeping thing, it really interested me because I sometimes put my foot out from under the covers like that and it helps me sleep. I didn't know...lol. Thanks for the info :-)

What a great article. The only one that I am guilty of is I love to sleep under a ton of heavy blankets too. Especially during the winter time. But I can not sleep with socks on and always have to stick my feet to the side so that they are uncovered.

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I’m not a doctor, therapist, nutritionist or anything of the like(would probably be nice but I'm not) . Anything I’ve written here is to tell you about my experiences and what has worked for me or general information. It isn’t advice. I’m not telling you to do any of these things. I just want to pass on what has helped me and hope that you enjoy this blog.